asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is prepared to have the same headage grants etc. paid in less severely handicapped areas as those paid in severely handicapped areas in accordance with EEC Directives and Regulations; and if he will make a statement setting out clearly the reasons these grants differ.

The requirement that the level of headage payments rates should reflect the degree of permanent natural handicap affecting farming activities in disadvantaged areas is set out in Article 7 of EEC Directive 75/268 which also states in its preamble that "it should be left to the member states to fix the amount of such allowances according to the severity of the handicaps involved within the limits and conditions fixed for the different types of areas, both as to the amounts which may be paid and the types of production which may be covered".

In general, the approach adopted by successive administrations since 1975 and approved by the EEC has been to limit the types of livestock eligible in areas of less severe handicap rather than reduce the headage rates payable. For this reason cattle headage grants are confined to beef cow herds in the less severely handicapped areas whereas all herds are eligible in the more severely handicapped areas. In the case of sheep, headage payments are confined to hogget ewes in lowland areas whereas breeding ewes and hogget ewes are eligible in mountain areas.